Shae Peppler | Reporter / Anchor |Sports / Entertainment / Writer

Shae: When you grow up in Chicago, you are born a sports fan. It goes like this: Da Bears is a proper sentence; MJ was your favorite athlete; you have a baseball team preference; and no matter what age, gender or level of athleticism, you love the Blackhawks. On top of this, football could’ve been my high school mascot and I attended college at a university where basketball is a religion. So, yes, I’m a sports fan.

Shae attended college at Indiana University, where she majored in Broadcast Journalism and minored in Kinesiology. During the summer of her junior year, Shae spent her time in New York City double interning for MTV Networks and Showtime Network. Working on everything from production budgets to Behind the Music, she learned quickly what the television business had to offer and realized this was the industry for her.

After discussing her interest in sports, Shae was signed on to assist CBS in home- televised Bears games during her college breaks. She helped the production crew put together pre-made packages prior to kick off and worked in the broadcast booth on logistics throughout the game.

During her senior year at IU, Shae worked as an anchor, host, reporter, producer and videographer for channel WTIU-Bloomington, along with several of her other classmates. Together, they would put on a weekly news program covering everything from the weather to pop culture. At the end of her senior year, Shae was introduced to individuals from Big Ten Network and became a student liaison for Indiana athletics.

Throughout college, Shae’s free time was devoted to teaching master dance and fitness classes at the university gym to students and facility. She also had Hoosier Basketball season tickets all four years and was the Vice President for the Student Recreational Sports Association.

Soon after graduation, Shae became a football reporter for the BTN and spent her time traveling from practices to games throughout the Midwest. Shae learned the ins and outs of Big Ten Athletics first hand through coaches, players and front office personnel. After spending several Saturdays on the football field, Shae explained how “Every job has been a learning experience, but I can honestly say this one taught me the most. You have no idea what you’re in for when you graduate, I don’t care how well you know the game or the programs. Just going out there and learning first hand was really the best experience I could have asked for.”

A few months later, Shae was informed of a casting call for a local sports girl to be a part of the ABC Chicago Bears Pregame show, “The Chicago Huddle.” A few hundred girls and several rounds of competing later, Shae became one of two Chicago Huddle Correspondents. As part of the Chicago Huddle, Shae interviewed and introduced Bears players, sports anchors and writers. She also attended games to interact with fans for the show’s “tailgate” segments.

Shortly after the show wrapped, Shae met with a producer from Mouthpiecesports.com, a sports website with interviews, video clips, blogs, scores and stats. He soon brought her on board as a reporter for the website, where she interviewed both celebrities and athletes at charity events and sport outings.

During the summer of 2010, Shae was asked to join the team that would come up with the marketing pitch and presentation for the Chicago Bulls 2010 Free Agent Quest. Working with a leading digital company, Silver Chalice New Media, Shae played a part in the creative process along with a multi-media presentation, extensive player research and the marketing of the City of Chicago.

Shae has also added hosting to her resume, as she worked with Giant Productions and Big Lead Sports on a daily show called “The Big Lead Sports Pro Football Report”. Airing on over 20 websites nationally, the show brought viewers up to date on NFL breaking news and fantasy football updates.

In 2011, Shae also expanded her broadcasting experience into Entertainment News, where she is now a fill-in host for CelebTV, covering celebrity news, fashion, and all things trending. In addition to filling in at CelebTV, Shae has rejoined the Silver Chalice New Media Group to host, produce, and manage content for the Total College Sports and ACC Digital Network(s), providing daily updates on the news around college sports.

When she has some time to herself, Shae likes to take dance classes, rollerblade, walk her dogs or just be outside. She has been a Cubs fan since the beginning but admits her family in Wisconsin tried to make her a Packer fan early on. Shae continues to pursue her career in media with the same mindset that brought her into the business, “Sometimes we just need an escape from life. Sports and Entertainment is a great outlet to give someone relief from a bad day at the office.”